The ‘Wonderful’ Imagination of Phil Davis

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In the stylistic pantheon of MMA, rough categories emerge from the various disciplines in play, and most fighters fit more or less into those molds.

A man with cauliflowered ears is likely to want to take foes to the mat; a face with mottled nose and scar tissue is not looking to “lay and pray” his way to a decision, at least not if the owner can keep the fight standing. At the end of day, the visible mileage a fighter brings into the ring is often a dead-on indicator of how he plans to win. Randy Couture’s ears and Wanderlei Silva’s face are irrefutable proof of this truth.

However, what Phil Davis can do is pretty much limited to what he can imagine, and if the UFC light heavyweight’s recent performances are any indication, that penchant for unorthodox moves is an emerging threat to the rest of the division.

“And that’s pretty much my game plan,” Davis told Sherdog.com, “to be crazy and unpredictable.”

Facing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the UFC Fight Night 24 main event on Saturday at the KeyArena in Seattle, Davis has a major opportunity in front of him. Namely, to take a huge step up the ladder -- both in terms of rankings and visibility -- by taking on one of the game’s most consistent and wily light heavyweights over the past several years.

In his last outing, a second-round submission against Tim Boetsch at UFC 123, “Mr. Wonderful” closed the show with an inventive variation on the kimura, reaching behind Boetsch’s back as he lay against the fence, in a position where the arm is traditionally safe from such moves.

“It was something I was working on and, you know, didn’t get chance to use it until Boetsch,” Davis said. “That’s what I do. As long as I see an opportunity, I go for it.”

An NCAA champion at 197 pounds while competing for Penn State University in 2008, perhaps the most baffling thing about Davis is that he does not fit the typical ex-college wrestler mold.

Throwing funky moves into the mix suits Davis’ style perfectly, because he is a handful to begin with. While many top college wrestlers in MMA have built other skills such as striking and jiu-jitsu into their games as complements to their core arts, Davis looks to flip the script completely, doing things so out of the box that one forgets he was an NCAA champion.

Whether it is leaping in at odd angles to punch, uncorking the kimura on Boetsch or just plain keeping it funky with spry movement and attacks that put opponents on the defensive, Davis dictates the action. That is when he thrives, because his ability to physically control people is obvious.

The core art of wrestling is a significant reason why he is able to be effective, he explained. The sacrifices required make progressing in MMA that much easier.

“Wrestlers, pound-for-pound, are the best athletes on the planet. It’s just one of those things that, when a guy gets into MMA from wrestling, not only is he a high-level athlete -- and I mean that in terms of just everything that makes up an athlete, whether it’s quickness, power, strength, endurance, mental toughness, just the ability to perform under pressure -- wrestlers are good at all of those things.,” Davis said. “When you progress as an MMA fighter, it makes you a top fighter very soon, much sooner [than] coming in from another [discipline].”

Still, one has to want it bad enough to suffer through the learning curve of absorbing the game and going from being an elite competitor in one sport to a relative newcomer in the other areas required.

Privation, exhaustion and repetition are challenges to which wrestlers are accustomed, and the transition to MMA was something that was on Davis’ mind before his college career was done.

“I knew what I wanted to do,” he said of his decision to turn professional. “Before the [2008] national championships, I wanted to move on to MMA. I made that known to the right people beforehand and was able to find the right people. It worked out well.”

Davis has since joined Alliance MMA, a team that includes UFC 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz and Brandon Vera. Training with renowned jiu-jitsu coach Lloyd Irvin, Davis recognized a good instructor when he saw one.

“I was with coaches at his level before in wrestling, and you know, when you work, it’s one of those things, when I work with a guy, you don’t have to tell me you’re good or not good, or I accomplished this and trained guys to do that,” Davis said. “When I work with a coach, I can tell how good of a coach he is. I’ve worked with Olympic champion coaches in wrestling. When I got with Lloyd, I recognized his teaching methods and knowledge and said, ‘This is a guy I can work with.’ He and I just meshed.”

The parallels between Davis and Jon “Bones” Jones have been drawn often in the past year, as they have kept pace with one another moving up the UFC ranks. Both were east coast-based college wrestlers that emerged seemingly out of nowhere with a handful of fights and a lot of highlight-reel sequences in those matches. After trouncing Ryan Bader in two rounds at UFC 126, Jones was informed he had earned a title shot against light heavyweight king Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

“I’m real proud of Jones,” said Davis. “He worked hard, and it’s his time.”

Jones lifted the title from Rua with a three-round drubbing, perhaps signaling a new era in MMA, talent-wise. In a March 21 conference call with national media, Davis clearly grasped the chance that has fallen directly into his path.

With Tito Ortiz injured himself, he drew the date with Nogueira, after previously preparing for a bout with Matt Hamill at UFC 129 on April 30.

“It took a lot of thought before I agreed to this fight,” Davis said. “It’s a great opportunity, but at the same time, it’s a huge challenge. I talked it over with my coaches and everybody on my team. We made sure it was a fight that made sense.”

However, Davis says he is not thinking too much about other fighters, instead focusing on what he needs to do on a daily basis so he can do what he needs to do come fight time -- especially if it is something the other guy and fans have not seen much of, if at all.

“I don’t really think of who can beat me. It’s like asking, ‘Is so-and-so dating so-and-so?’ That’s other people’s business,” he said. “I really am just scratching the surface. I’m nowhere near my potential. I’m not even close. I’m probably not going to get there until I’m 30, so I have plenty of time.

“I just look at it like this,” Davis added. “It’s not about getting a title shot or a belt; it’s about having a belt and holding it down like GSP, [Anderson] Silva or B.J. [Penn] -- just being dominant in your division.”

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